Deadly bomb blast targets press award ceremony in northern Afghanistan
Date
3/12/2023 3:53:02 AM
(MENAFN) At least one person was killed and eight others, mostly journalists, were wounded when a bomb exploded during a press award ceremony on Saturday in Mazar-e Sharif, the capital of Balkh province in northern Afghanistan. The event was organized by the Afghan Voice Agency and attended by dozens of journalists. According to local authorities, five journalists and three children were among the wounded, while one guard was killed. Security forces cordoned off the area as those who attended the event feared that the number of casualties could increase.
The bomb exploded inside the Tabian Farhang center, where the ceremony was held. Sayed Shabir Mahmoodi, the foreign relations director of the Afghan Voice Agency in Balkh province, said that the unofficial death toll estimates suggested that more people had died and local hospital personnel in Mazar-e Sharif had confirmed that three people were killed and over 40 others were wounded in the blast.
This incident marks the first such attack since the Taliban took control of the country in 2021, following the withdrawal of US forces. The media situation in Afghanistan has already been precarious, with dozens of journalists killed in attacks in the past few years. Reporters Without Borders data suggests that about 60% of media professionals have already left the country since 2021. The attack is expected to further aggravate the situation, according to Hafizullah Barakai, head of the Afghanistan Journalists’ Union.
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